Oh my god...

[Aiko]

Haha, yeah I haven't told anyone but my girlfriend about it. Considering she lives out of state, I'm gonna put about a fourth of it aside for trips to see her, save about 50 thousand for after marriage (in a few years we hope ^_^) and...Well...I'm not sure what to do with the rest XD

25,000 is a lot for travelling. It might be better spent on you two moving together permanently though. Of course I don't really know whether that makes sense in your current situation. Only you can tell that.

What I am actually trying to say is that with that amount of money, there may be some new options available to you which you have not even considered so far.

[Billie Bonce]

Easy come - easy go. Don't rely on these money. Don't plan anything great with them. If you badly need something - you know how to spend the money. If you don't - just spend them easily. They may help, but they would never make you happy. Consider charity, by the way. I would never give such an advice of spending hard-earned money. But this is another case.

[Nessie]

If I won that money, the first thing I'd do is see an investment counselor. Forget houses, cars, toys and even traveling...I'll be happy to live in the same house forever and always drive a used car and stay only in my local mudpits if only, if only...

I NEVER had to work for somebody else, ever, ever again.

Nessie

[quagmire_uk]

if only...

I NEVER had to work for somebody else, ever, ever again.

I'm not sure what the cost of living is in the US, but I didn't think that 100,000 was really enough to live on for an entire life, even if you live in modest accomodation. Would only last a few years.

But yeah, you do make a good point. The money could be treated as a very large amount of unemeployment benefit that isn't being paid for by the tax payers. If you want to, you can now afford to be completely lazy. (But when the money runs out in the future, wouldn't have terribly good career prospects if he's been sitting on arse not doing much for 10 years.)

[Duncan Edwards]

Well it's not enough to retire on now, not close. But if properly invested it would easily provide enough investment income in 20-30 years to stay home and live well. He sounds young and the idea of being able to retire at my age sounds terrific. Like Nessie I live modestly and enjoy simple pleasures so it wouldn't take that much.

[Fred588]

This is an opinion only, obviously. A windfall of 100k is very nice but its not really THAT much money. Its on the order of 5 years pay at minimum wage. And that is assuming nothing is taken out for taxes. Therefore, it is not a substitute for a job. It IS, however, a nice cushion. At current rates of interest, and again assuming nothing taken for taxes, it will generate about one-thousand a year in interest in a very safe (CD) investment. My advice is as follows:

1) If you are a university student, use it to enable yourself to go to school without having to work. No car, no fancy parties, just use you time to best academic advantage.

2) Otherwise, keep the principle is a safe investment such as a CD. Rollover the interest when you can or spend it if you must but leave the principle intact. I would go for relatively short-term CDs at the moment because interest rates are expected to go up in the relatively near future as the economy recovers.

[Fred588]

I'm very happy for you.

Don't tell anyone.

Don't spend it.

Get out of debt.

Put half the remainder in a money market account and the rest in a good mutual fund. Don't buy any single stocks, don't buy real estate, don't put it in any special investment with a friend.

Stay straight with the IRS above all else.

http://www.daveramsey.com

Fuck all that noise.

Make your own private Studio 588 in your backyard.

You might build a mud pit or two but for a whole studio the amount being discussed is not enough.

[Mynock]

Well it's not enough to retire on now, not close. But if properly invested it would easily provide enough investment income in 20-30 years to stay home and live well. He sounds young and the idea of being able to retire at my age sounds terrific. Like Nessie I live modestly and enjoy simple pleasures so it wouldn't take that much.

This man is talking sense. Pay off your debt and invest what's left and you can retire at 50 instead of 65.

[sinkersdemon]

There's a lot going on here right now, so it's hard to make a decision on anything (keep me and my family in your prayers if you pray, please) But yea, I'll probably look into paying off some things and saving a lot of it to try to make living a little easier.

25,000 is a lot for travelling. It might be better spent on you two moving together permanently though. Of course I don't really know whether that makes sense in your current situation. Only you can tell that.

Long story short, her mother won't let her fly by herself even though she is 21 =/ So it's a bit more expensive per trip, but it is, without a doubt, very worth it.

[Nessie]

I'm not sure what the cost of living is in the US, but I didn't think that 100,000 was really enough to live on for an entire life, even if you live in modest accomodation. Would only last a few years.

Ah, I know it isn't enough to retire, but it could shorten up my work time considerably if it was invested correctly. Perhaps, too, it could put me through school so I could learn something new.

To the original poster:

Whatever ya do...don't just blow it all and have nothing for it.

Do something with it that counts and will last.

Nessie